DT 28275

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28275

Hints and tips by Deep Threat

Good morning from South Staffs where there’s a cold sunny start to the day. Here’s hoping that you can all access this site without any of the problems of recent times.

Nothing too difficult from Giovanni today, though perhaps a little more of his trademark religious references than we have had in recent weeks.

In the hints below, the definitions are underlined. The answers are hidden under the ANSWER buttons, so don’t click if you don’t want to see them.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.

Across

1a Rough handling that is deliberate is being covered up (6)MISUSE – A word for deliberate or ponder wrapped around IS (from the clue).

4a Notice project worker, one assisting senior officer (8)ADJUTANT – Put together a short commercial notice, to project or stick out, and one of the usual worker insects, and you get a junior officer who does the admin for a regimental commander.

9a Healthy food for party people (6)GREENS – The healthy food we were all encouraged (forced?) to eat when young, or members of a political party.

10a One present late in the morning or evening by river (8)ATTENDEE – A time (2,3) which is lateish in the morning or evening, followed by the name of a Welsh or Scottish river.

11a Vehicle, say, in City area — area half destroyed (6,3)ESTATE CAR – The letters from the postal district for the City of London are wrapped around a verb meaning ‘say’, and followed by the first half of ARea.

13a Street with strange sort of sound (5)STRUM – The abbreviation for street followed by a word for strange or odd, giving the sort of sound that may emanate from a guitar.

14a Leaders won’t stay in position — expect people to get sacked (5,4,4)HEADS WILL ROLL – A figurative expression (unless you’re Henry VIII) used when it is expected that those responsible for a foul-up will be sacked. Literally it means that people in leading positions won’t stay where they’re put, perhaps because they are round in shape and the ground isn’t flat.

17a Church leader like me will get involved with psalter (13)KAPELLMEISTER – Anagram (will get involved) of LIKE ME and PSALTER. The leadership involved is in the musical field – think of Haydn and Prince Esterhazy, for example.

21a Nuisances in religious instruction thrown out by clergy (5)PESTS – Start with a word for some members of the clergy, then remove Religious Instruction.

23a You finally react with law being broken and howl (9)CATERWAUL – Anagram (being broken) of REACT, LAW and the last letter of (yo)U.

24a Obsessional state that could make us nosier (8)NEUROSIS – Anagram (could make) of US NOSIER.

25a Ways to hide love — such will evoke sadness (6)PATHOS – The letter that looks like a love score at tennis, inserted into some ways used for foot traffic.

26a More than one drink that is brought by deck worker aboard ship (8)SHANDIES – A term for a deck worker and the Latin abbreviation for ‘that is’ are put together and inserted into the usual crossword ship. Some drinks which are a mix of beer and lemonade or ginger beer.

27a Island‘s tree featured in speech (6)CYPRUS – An island in the Mediterranean, which sounds like the name of an evergreen tree.

Down

1d Periodical not gross — something that can be attractive (6)MAGNET – A short form of a word for a periodical, then the sort of profit which is not gross.

2d Pots he was getting knocked out in a factory of exploitation (5,4)SWEAT SHOP – Anagram (knocked out) of POTS HE WAS.

3d Singer to get some ladies in a trance (7)SINATRA – Hidden in the clue.

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5d Put off skimpy attire, good person who has a resigned outlook? (11)DETERMINIST – Put together a word for put off or discourage, a short piece of female clothing, and the abbreviation for a good or holy person.

6d Nut is left only half fixed — tool needed (7)UTENSIL – Anagram (fixed) of NUT IS and half of LE(ft).

7d Tree person once on the council. man made redundant (5)ALDER – Remove the ‘man’ from the title of a former civic dignitary, second only to the mayor.

8d Winds coming up? Get some warm clothes (8)THERMALS – Some warm underclothes which could also be rising currents of air.

12d Unusual chasm, a ravine that needs special card to gain access (4,7)CASH MACHINE – Anagram (unusual) of CHASM A, followed by an unusual word for a ravine.

15d Prayer bringing love with hurt and fear dissipating (3,6)OUR FATHER – Start with the letter which looks like a love score at tennis, then add an anagram (dissipating) of HURT and FEAR, and you get the first two words of a Christian prayer first seen in the Gospel of Matthew.

16d Steer clear of workers in special trousers (3,5)SKI PANTS – A word for ‘steer clear of’. Dodge or avoid, followed by those insect workers again.

18d Girl with big dictionary getting tied up somehow (7)LASSOED – Another word for a girl or young woman followed by the acronym for a really big dictionary (not the BRB, but the really enormous one in many volumes).

19d Sailor to loiter, having lost heart in historical region (7)TARTARY – One of the usual sailors followed by a word for ‘loiter’ with its middle letter removed (having lost heart). The answer is an old word for a large chunk of northern and central Asia.

20d Conservative fails and goes out of business (6)CLOSES – Abbreviation for Conservative, followed by ‘fails to win’.

22d Thus America presents one of its composers (5)SOUSA – An American composer made up of a word for ‘thus’ and the initials of the country.

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I thought that “church leader” in 17a was unfairly misleading. Was J.S. Bach really a church leader? Otherwise enjoyable and reasonably straightforward. Thank you DT and setter.
I’m glad that Google has now let me back here.

Don’t have time for crosswords during the week but just wanted to say “Welcome back B.D.” I’ve really missed accessing the site for the last couple of Saturdays, maybe I’ll manage better again tomorrow !!!

Some tricky clues today but enough straight forward ones to keep going, so agree with DT on a **/***.not sure if I’ve seen17a written down before, so pleased it was an anagram . Assumed my stab at 19d was right and became confident when 27a went in.
A week of enjoyable solves of medium difficulty-we shall see what Saturday and Sunday bring ! Sunday is always a treat and that little bit different.

Top half went in quickly and pretty much read and write working the grid. But then really slowed in bottom half and lastly se corner. ***/** from me. Several new words but derivable. Favourite was 3d.
Thanks all

I agree with the ‘straightforward’ rating this puzzle is getting so far today. Almost a R&W (I do like using that abbreviation now I’ve been told what it means!) Funnily enough, 1a was my LOI as the mind became focused on forms of abrasive for some reason and wouldn’t let go.

I suspect 17a will excite plenty of comment later. First time I’ve ever seen it in a crossword and had to check the spelling – though it has to be acknowledged that it’s a clever anagram. I think neveracrossword is being a little harsh – Bach was certainly a leader in a church; he just lead something other than prayer.

I was fully prepared to complain about 12d: I’d worked out the answer but had to look up the meaning of chine. The first online dictionary said it was a ridge. Wikipedia enlightened me and pointed me at the Isle of Wight. Rather confusing. And to make it worse, the same thing is called ‘bunny’ in Hampshire which I’m sure will pop up misleadingly in a clue in the future.

COTD: shared between 16d and 18d. Both solved sweetly but both made me smile. Thanks to setter and to DT

I enjoyed this. I liked ‘that is deliberate’ in 1a, and enjoyed the surfaces in 2d and 3d. Also liked 22d, effective. I liked 12d though I didn’t know the ravine, and I didn’t know 17a which I thought was the obscurity of the day but everyone else seems to know all about it – oh well.

Not as hard as some Giovanni puzzles, but still quite enjoyable. Never heard of the region in 19d or the church leader in 17a, both were easy enough to work out from the clues. Favourites 1a and 18d. 2.5*/2.5* Many thanks to Giovanni and to DT for his hints.

No trouble accessing the site today but I’ll shut up about that now for fear of tempting fate.
I thought the crossword was surprisingly straightforward for a Friday – usually the trickiest of the week for me.
I don’t know about 13a – don’t really think that its a sort of sound – more a way of making a sound.
I’m not sure I’ve met 5d before but it wasn’t too difficult to work out from the clue.
I have heard of 17a but that doesn’t mean I can spell it so checked in the BRB.
I liked 1a and 16d.
With thanks to Giovanni and to Deep Threat.
Jolly cold here today. I was doing quite well with the Toughie but now seem to have ground to a complete halt.

Gradually getting to know names of setters and those who give the invaluable help. I find the blog most interesting and was quite lost for the days it was down.I found today an enjoyable solve until I reached 17 d and a word I had never heard of, but hopefully will not forget. Thanks to all.

Agreed with the rating – pretty straightforward for the Don.
Not keen on 17a – shouldn’t there be a hint that it’s foreign?
New definition of chine for me, and 19d was new to me too.
Thanks to the Don and DT for the review.
Currently sat in the sunshine here in Almoradi after a couple of chilly days as it never warmed up yesterday

Hi pommers. Hoped you’d show up today after your advice of yesterday. I tried the Guardian online today. Set by VLAD. Absolutely nowhere near the setter’s wavelength, I’m afraid. Haven’t given up on so many clues and looked up the answer in a very long time. And still didn’t get the rationale for some of them. I need to find a Big Dave for the Guardian; I’m sure there’ll be one. Will probably persevere but a bit of a baptism of fire this morning!

All a little too religious for my taste but an excellent puzzle nonetheless. 17a was new to me (thank you Google) and I needed the hints to understand 21a (it was always called RE in my school).
Two excellent clues in 16d and 18d with the former being my favourite.
Such a relief after yesterday although to be fair, I did manage to complete it after considerable effort and resorting to one answer from the hints.
Today’s for me was **/****
Thx to all

**/***. 17a is a new one on me, but then I know nothing of Haydn’s works (too turgid). 19d was also new to me and wasted my time solving. Ravine in 12d was a bit steep, but is in common use in Bournemouth etc. Quite liked 14a. Thanks to setter and DT for comments. Oh, and learnt how to spell 23a, never having written it down before. Glad to see the sites running OK now.

I’ll go with the flow on this fairly gentle Giovanni offering and rate it 2*/3* with 1 across my COTD. For me, the benign nature of the difficulty took nothing away from the excellent surfaces and clueing, which I thought was up to his usual standard.

Like RD, I didn’t really get very much out of this one although I surprised myself by recalling 17a easily enough and not having to work too hard to get 19d. The chine was easy enough for someone with a daughter living on the IOW.
Nothing stood out as being worthy of particular mention.

Thanks to DG and also to DT – computer still not happy with the site but at least its allowing me access most of the time!

Yes, I agree, Giovanni quite benign today.
I did have to use my gizmo for the anagram at 17a, very obscure, but, to be fair, I do think that has popped up before. I had forgotten it, and I’ll probably forget it again next time, what a mouthful.
There was quite a lot to like, 14a amused me, but fave goes to 12d as I learnt a new word today.
Thanks to Giovanni, and to Deep Threat for the parsing of 1a in particular.

Found this puzzle quite hard work but about three star standard for me. Spelling of 17a troubled me (why two L’s?) but there was no alternative but to write it in. 19d was new to me and a bit of a flier. Last in 27a perhaps I should have seen sooner.

IMO we have been spoilt this week with especially enjoyable puzzles and today’s is no exception. I was not surprised to see several Comments re 17a with which I was in fact familiar and my limited knowledge of German enabled me to spell it correctly. The abbreviated religious instruction referred to in 21a always throws me as ‘Divinity’ was the title of the subject at my school. Needed to Google 19d. Thanks Giovanni and DT. ***/***.
Am I alone in for the last few days no longer receiving BD emails when the hints are available each day?

Good afternoon from a wet South Wales. Made worse by the Stygian gloom caused by loss of our street lights from last night’s storm. Strange how this affects ones mood.
On the tougher side for me. Misreading my writing held me up unnecessarily. Like others had to Google to check 17a and 19d were OK.
COTD was 1a.
Thanks to setter and DT. Help on parsing 12d required. Had visited Bournemouth many times so knew of chine but didn’t realise it was a ravine,

I like anagram clues where you need to look around for the fodder and feel very spoiled today.
Liked 16d a lot.
Just had to check the thesaurus once to get the synonym of loiter in 19d and Googled the answer to check.
That gave me 27a which was my last one in.
Thanks to the Don and to DT for the review.

Thanks to Giovanni and to Deep Threat for the review and hints. Quite a good puzzle, only problems were 17a&19d, got the former from the fodder and the latter from the wordplay. I liked 22d,but my favourite was 23a. Was 3*/3* for me.

Friday’s crossword is always my least favourite day, and today was no exception, though not helped by having a cold and feeling grumpy. The clues just don’t chime for me.
Thanks to DT for the hints, many of which I used, and the Don, of course, one day I will be able to do one of his crosswoods.

As always it has a lot to do with whether or not you’re on the same wave length as the setter – I’m with you – I find Fridays tricky.
The other thing that has a bearing on how you feel about a crossword is other “stuff”. Today you have a cold and you’re feeling grumpy – I hope you feel better soon.

Not my cup of tea today, certainly not straight forward. I was obviously marching to a different drummer. Didn’t like 13a, 5d, or 19d, as they are not words I have read or heard used. I must be really slow today, as I don’t understand what “featured in speech” has to do with that island? The tree bit I get. Favorite was 26a, a favorite tipple but hard to come by in the US. Even in the pseudo English pubs over here I usually get a blank stare if I ask for half a shandy. We’ve educated quite a few barmen on how to make one.

I enjoyed today’s offering. I was slow to get going but once I was ‘in’ I picked up momentum. I quite liked 4a so I’ll nominate that as my fave. 3/3* overall.
Thanks to the Don, and to DT for the review.

Did not have the time to finish this yesterday, so rounded it off this morning.
Had to look up 19d but other than that, managed to finish….quite an achievement for me on a Friday.
I think I may be very very slowly becoming attuned to some of the setters…..but it is a slow process for me.
And one which would not be happening at all but for this site.

Thanks to Deep Threat for the hints, much needed for the parsing, and to the setter .